A pastoral narrative approach to black adolescents affected by the divorce of parents

Abstract

The focus of this research is on the black adolescent affected by the divorce of his/her parents. Statistics have shown that there is currently a noticeable rise in the number of black families affected by divorce. This study departs from the premise that the trauma caused by divorce is influenced by aspects such as culture and the developmental stage of those affected. It is believed that the black adolescent is highly vulnerable due to his/ her cultural background and the fact that adolescence represents a transitional developmental stage. Due to the African worldview and cultural value system the adolescent's experiences most probably differ from how Western adolescents perceive crises and challenges. Therapeutic intervention can take on different forms like psychology and pastoral counselling. This study deems pastoral counselling a suitable intervention for adolescents as the church is present in most communities, making it accessible for most people. Pastoral intervention in this study is approached from a narrative perspective as it takes into consideration the personal narratives of counselees. It is expected that the affected adolescent may be preoccupied with the problem saturated narrative created by parental divorce. As adolescents are focused on their personal needs and identity formation, the narrative has much potential for facilitating alternative stories in the light of God's grand narrative of His covenant love. As current pastoral literature does not sufficiently reflect on the pastorate cognisant of the African worldview and culture, this study wants to integrate a pastoral and narrative approach when guiding the black adolescent affected by challenges created by parental divorce. In addressing this problem the study attempted to accomplish the following objectives: • To discuss marriage and family life within the context of the African worldview and culture. • To investigate the institution of marriage and the phenomenon of divorce and its effects on black South Africans. • To discuss the developmental stages of adolescence from developmental theory and to identify challenges for the black adolescent. • To provide a general overview of some Biblical principles pertaining to marriage and family life. • To describe a pastoral narrative approach as a form of intervention for black adolescents affected by the divorce of their parents • To identify markers for a pastoral narrative approach to the black adolescent affected by the divorce of their parents. As the study's main aim was to contribute to the field of practical theology and pastoral care, the interpretive model of Osmer (2008) was applied in a literature based approach. Another important aim was to contribute to the growing corpus of literature on contextualised pastoral care which is much needed within the African context. In this way it hopes to make a contribution to a pastoral approach which is cognisant of the African worldview and culture while at the same time is congruent with the Bible as Word of God.